Regional Academy opens testing for would-be peace officers

The CAPCOG Regional Law Enforcement Academy (RLEA) will hold its first exam for prospective peace officer cadets for its 91st and 92nd Basic Peace Officers Courses (BPOC) at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 26 at the CAPCOG offices, 6800 Burleson Road, Building 310 in Austin. The exam is for those seeking a career in law enforcement but have yet to be hired by a law enforcement agency.

“Being a peace officer has become a true profession; it is more than just a job,” said Mike Jennings, CAPCOG RLEA director. “Departments across the CAPCOG region want officers who believe in serving their communities and helping their neighbors in their time of need. There is a great need for officers in Central Texas and state wide, and CAPCOG is where great officers can get their start.”

Taking and passing the exam is the first step on being accepted into either the seven-month, day-time or nine-month, night-time training program that covers 42 subjects to prepare cadets to pass the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Licensing Exam and join a local agency. To develop its curriculum for the BPOC, CAPCOG receives input from many area agencies. Local agencies and agencies throughout the state also visit the BPOC scouting for future officers. The 91st BPOC will be the first course to include TCOLE’s extended curriculum adding training on subjects such as missing and exploited children investigations, police professionalism and ethics, and de-escalation techniques. BPOC 91 will start June 2020 and end in January 2021, while BPOC 92 is scheduled to begin in September 2020 and end in June 2021.